Analysis for Application of Spreadable Structures in Civil Engineering

Abstract

Spreadable structures have a long history of development, with the earliest examples dating back to folding umbrellas and simple folding mechanisms, the design of which was based on geometrical principles and accomplished by hand techniques. With the development of materials science and computational technology in the 19th and early 20th centuries, complex spreadable structures gradually appeared in fields such as architecture and aerospace. Contemporarily, spreadable structures have been increasingly used in the field of civil engineering, especially in house building and bridge engineering, because of their foldable, easy to transport and rapid deployment characteristics. This research is to explore the application of spreadable structures in civil engineering, focusing on their potential in house building and bridge construction. The study analyses the important role of spreadable structures in post-disaster emergency buildings and bridges, especially shear spreadable bridges incorporating a chordal support system, which significantly improves the stiffness and load carrying capacity of the structure. The significance of the study is that it provides new ideas for the application of spreadable structures in civil engineering, and the performance of spreadable structures will be further improved in the future by combining new materials, intelligent systems and parametric design. This not only contributes to the rapid response in post-disaster reconstruction and emergency rescue, but also provides innovative technical paths and more efficient solutions for future civil engineering design.